Mind a journey to the heart of being human by daniel j siegel

MIND A JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF BEING HUMAN Daniel J Siegel, MD W W NORTON & COMPANY INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS SINCE 1923 NEW YORK LONDON For Caroline CONTENTS Welcome What Is the Mind? How Does the Mind Work in Ease and Dis-Ease? Is the Mind’s Subjective Reality Real? Who Are We? Where Is Mind? A Why of Mind? When Is Mind? A Continuum Connecting Consciousness, Cognition, and Community? 10 Humankind: Can We Be Both? REFERENCES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INDEX EXPANDED CONTENTS Welcome The Mind’s Curiosity About Itself A Common View: The Mind Is What the Brain Does Our Identity and the Internal and Relational Origin of Mind Why this Book About the Mind? An Invitation The Approach of Our Journey Words Reflecting on Reflecting Words What Is the Mind? Working on a Working Definition of Mind (1990-1995) The System of Mind: Complex Systems, Emergence, and Causality Reflections and Invitations: Self-Organization of Energy and Information Flow How Does the Mind Work in Ease and Dis-Ease? Self-Organization, Lost and Found (1995-2000) Differentiation and Linkage: The Integration of Healthy Minds Reflections and Invitations: Integration and Well-Being? Is the Mind’s Subjective Reality Real? Adapting to a Medical World that had Lost Its Mind (1980-1985) Mindsight in Health and Healing Reflections and Invitations: The Centrality of Subjectivity Who Are We? Exploring the Layers of Experience Beneath Identity (1975-1980) Top-Down and Bottom-Up Reflections and Invitations: Identity, Self, and Mind Where Is Mind? Could Mind Be Distributed Beyond the Individual? (1985-1990) Neuroplasticity and Cultural Systems Reflections and Invitations: Within and Between A Why of Mind? Meaning and Mind, Science and Spirituality (2000-2005) Integration as the “Purpose of Life?” Reflections and Invitations: Purpose and Meaning When Is Mind? Exploring Presence in Mind and Moment (2005-2010) Attunement, Integration, and Time Reflections and Invitations: Awareness and Time A Continuum Connecting Consciousness, Cognition, and Community? Integrating Consciousness, Illuminating Mind (2010-2015) Consciousness, Non-Consciousness, and Presence Reflections and Invitations: Cultivating Presence 10 Humankind: Can We Be Both? Being, Doing, and Integrating Mind (2015-eternal present) The Systems of a Plural Self and Integration of Identity Reflections and Invitations: MWe, an Integrating Self, and a Kind Mind MIND CHAPTER Welcome HELLO A simple communication offered from me to you But who is it that knows I greeted you with ‘hello’? And how you know? And what does knowing really mean? In this book we’ll explore the nature of the who, how, what, why, where, and when of the mind, of your mind, of your self, the experience you have that knows I am welcoming you with hello Some use the term mind to mean intellect and logic, thought and reasoning, contrasting mind to heart, or mind to emotion This is not how I use the broad term mind here, or in other writings By mind, I mean all that relates to our subjective felt experience of being alive, from feelings to thoughts, from intellectual ideas to inner sensory immersions before and beneath words, to our felt connections to other people and our planet And mind also refers to our consciousness, the experience we have of being aware of this felt sense of life, the experience of knowing within awareness Mind is the essence of our fundamental nature, our deepest sense of being alive, here, right now, in this moment Yet beyond consciousness and its knowing within awareness of our subjective felt sense of being alive, mind may also involve a larger process, one that connects us to each other and our world This important process is a facet of mind that may be hard to measure, but is nevertheless a crucial aspect of our lives we’ll explore in great depth in the journey ahead Though we may not be able to quantify in numerical terms these facets of our mind at the heart of the experience of being here in this life, this internally felt subjective phenomenon of living, and the ways we can feel our connections to one another and the world, are subjective phenomena that are real These non-measureable facets of the reality of life have many names Some call this our essence Some call this our core, soul, spirit, or true nature I simply call this mind Is mind just some synonym for subjectivity—the feeling of our emotions and thoughts, memories and dreams, inner awareness and interconnectedness? If mind also includes our way of being aware of this inner sense of moment-to-moment living, then mind would additionally involve the experience called consciousness, our way of being aware, of knowing what these aspects of our subjective life are as they unfold So at a minimum, mind is a term that includes consciousness and the way we are aware of our felt experience, our subjective lives But something also happens beneath awareness that involves what we usually refer to as mind as well These are our non-conscious mental processes, such as thoughts, memories, emotions, beliefs, hopes, dreams, longings, attitudes, and intentions Sometimes we are aware of these, and sometimes not Though we are not aware of these at times, perhaps even the majority of the time, these mental activities happening without consciousness are real and influence our behaviors These activities can be seen as a part of our thinking and reasoning, as some process that enables “information” to flow and transform And without awareness, it may be that these flows of information not evoke subjective feelings, as they are not a part of conscious experience So we can see that beyond consciousness and its awareness of subjective experience, the term mind also includes the fundamental process of information processing that does not depend upon awareness But what does mind-as-information-processor really mean? What is information? If information drives how we make decisions and initiate behavior, how does mind, conscious or not, enable us to make willful choices on what to do? Do we have free will? If the term mind includes aspects of subjectivity, consciousness, and information processing, including its problem-solving and behavioral control, what makes up the essence of what mind is? What is this “mind stuff” that is a part of this spectrum of mental processes from felt sense to executive control? With these common descriptions of the mind involving consciousness, subjective experience, and information processing, and how these are manifested in ways that you may be familiar with, including memory and perception, thought and emotion, reasoning and belief, decision-making and behavior, what can we say ties each of these well-known mental activities together? If mind is the source of everything from felt sensations and feelings to thought and the initiation of action, why are these all subsumed under the word mind? What can we say the mind is? Mind as a term, and mind as an entity or process, can be seen as a noun or verb As a noun, mind has the sense of being an object, something stable, of something you ought to be able to hold in your hands, something you can possess You have a mind, and it’s yours But what is that noun-like stuff of mind actually made of? As a verb, mind is a dynamic, ever-emerging process Mind is full of activity, unfolding with ceaseless change And if the verb-like mind is indeed a process, what is this “dynamic stuff,” this activity of our mental lives? What, really, is this mind, verb or noun, all about? Sometimes we hear a description of the mind as an “information processor.” (Gazzaniga, 2004) This generally indicates how we have representations of ideas or things and then transform them, remember events by encoding, storing, and retrieving memory, and move from perception to reasoning to enacting behavior Each of these forms of mind activity is part of the information processing of the mind What has intrigued me, as a scientist, educator, and physician working with the mind for more than thirty-five years now, is how common these descriptions of the mind are, yet how a definition of what the mind actually is, a clear view of the mind’s essence beyond lists of its functions, is missing from a wide range of fields that deal with the mind, from clinical practice and education to scientific research and philosophy As a mental health professional (psychiatrist and psychotherapist), I’ve also wondered how this lack of at least a working definition of what the mind might actually be could be limiting our effectiveness as clinicians A working definition would mean we could work with it and change it as needed to fit the data and our personal experience A definition would mean we could clearly state what the essence of mind means We so often hear the word mind yet rarely we notice it lacks a clear definition Without even a working definition of mind in scientific, educational, and clinical professional worlds, and without one in our personal and family lives, something seems missing, at least in my own mind, from our understanding and conversations about the mind With only descriptions and no attempt at even a working definition of what mind is, could we even define what a healthy mind is? If we stay at the level of description, of mind as being made of thoughts, feelings, and memories, of consciousness and subjective experience, let’s see where it takes us For example, if you reflect for a moment on your thoughts, what is your thinking truly made of? What is a thought? You might say, “Well, Dan, I know I am thinking when I sense words in my head.” And I could then ask you, what does it mean to say “I know” and to “sense words?” If these are processes, a dynamic, verb-like aspect of information processing, what is being processed? You may say, “Well, we know that it is simply brain activity.” And you may be surprised to find that no one knows, if this brain-view is indeed true, how the subjective sense of your own thinking somehow arises from neurons in your head Processes as familiar and basic as thought or thinking are still without clear understanding by our, well, our minds When we consider the mind as a verb-like, unfolding, emerging process, not being, or at least not only being, a noun-like thing, a static, fixed entity, we perhaps get closer to understanding what your thoughts may be, and in fact, what mind itself might be This is what we mean by the description of the mind as an information processor, a verb-like process But in either case, mind-as-noun indicating the processor or mind-as-verb indicating the processing, we are still in the dark about what this information transformation involves If we could offer a definition of the mind beyond these commonly used, important, and accurate descriptive elements, perhaps we’d be in a better position to clarify not just what the mind is, but also what mental well-being might be These have been the questions that have occupied my mind over these past four decades I’ve felt them, they’ve filled my consciousness, they’ve influenced my non-conscious information processing in dreams and drawings, and they’ve even shaped how I relate to others My friends and family, teachers and students, colleagues and patients, all know firsthand how obsessed I’ve been with these basic questions regarding the mind and mental health And now you too But like them, perhaps you’ll also come to see how attempting to answer these questions is not only a fascinating process in itself, but also results in useful perspectives that can offer us new ways of living well and creating a stronger, more resilient mind This book is all about a journey to define the mind beyond its common descriptions And once we can that, we can be in a more empowered position to see the scientific basis for how we might cultivate healthy minds more effectively The Mind’s Curiosity About Itself This interest in the mind has been with human beings for as long as we have recorded history of our thoughts If you, too, are curious about what the mind might be, you are not alone For thousands of years, philosophers and religious leaders, poets and storytellers, have wrestled with descriptions of our mental lives The mind seems to be quite curious about itself Perhaps this is why we’ve even named our own species, homo sapiens sapiens: the ones who know, and know we know But what we know? And how we know it? We can explore our subjective mental lives with reflection and contemplative practices, and we can set up scientific studies to explore the nature of the mind itself But what can we truly know about the mind using our minds? In the last few centuries to present day, the empirical study of the nature of reality, our human mental activity called science, has attempted to systematically study the characteristics of mind (Mesquita, Barrett, & Smith, 2010; Erneling & Johnson, 2005) But as we’ll see, even the various scientific disciplines interested in the nature of the mind have not established a common definition of what the mind is There are many descriptions of mental activities, including emotion, memory, and top-down learning and, 142 training, 162 see also awareness perceptual capacities, energy patterns and, 132 personal identity, levels of, 206 personal self, construction and notion of, 141 “pervasive leadership,” Arthur Zajonc, promoting, 329 pharmaceutical interventions, 30 photographic images, 23 photons, 164, 239, 244, 268, 283 physicians, mindful awareness training and, 110 physics entanglement and, 48 process of energy flow in, 55–59 see also Newtonian (or Classical) physics; quantum physics piloerection, 309 placebo effect, 10 plane of possibility, 254, 270, 283, 284 awareness and open plane of, 269 awe and overlap with, 310 consciousness as possible prime of, 276 creating cultural waves of positive influence and, 300 deep resonance and, 286 emptiness or fullness experiences with, 295–97, 298 examination of, flow of energy, and, 291–95 feelings reported by participants about, 271 hub of Wheel of Awareness and, 274 increasing access to, presence, and, 298 integrated awareness and, 299 in-the-plane or not-in-the-plane, energy probability and, 291, 292 knowing of awareness emerging from, 289 receptive state and, 309 “self-states” and, 315 as source of consciousness?, 268 sweep ratio, quality of consciousness, and, 294, 295 see also Wheel of Awareness planet delusion of separateness and impact on, 326–27 human mind and shaping of, integration and kindness and compassion for, 98 planetary well-being, expanding sense of self and, 61 Porges, S., 193, 309 positive emotions, increased levels of integration and, 114 positive life traits, more integrated connectome and, 81 positive psychology, lens of integration and, 114 positivity resonance, love and, 311, 312, 314 possibility, transforming into actuality, 31 postsynaptic neurons, 45 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 176, 198 chaos and rigidity in, 77 controlled hallucinogen use and benefits for, 127 hippocampus and, 169 implicit memory and mental suffering of, 173 PART and treatment of, 170 Vietnam war veteran with, 168 potentials, energy, 57 preconscious, 279 precuneus, 133 prefrontal cortex, 133 developmental trauma and growth impediments in, 223 integrative fibers of, 215 mindfulness meditation and, 221 nine functions arising in, 204 prefrontal regions of brain, abuse and neglect, lack of integration, and, 81 presence, 185, 298 being in love with natural world and, 327 choice and change and, 295 cultivating, 287–301 flow and, 294–95 health and, 324 integrated self and, 329 “non-judgmental” as a term and, 224 as portal for integration, 256, 280, 281, 283, 295, 298, 325, 330 regaining, conduition and, 231–32 repair of ruptures and, 228 “tend-and-befriend” response and, 311 well-being cultivated with, 308 pre-sence, opening to, 157 present moment, 252 embracing full potential of, 61 emergence and, 249 losing touching with, 231 opening to, integration and, 235 past, present, and future linked in, 18 resting in, 256 primates, 308 prime, 201, 252 priming, future events and, 173 Principles of Psychology, The (James), probability distribution curve, 31 change across, 32 energy, Wheel practice, and, 274 energy and, 237–38, 239, 268, 281 integrated consciousness and, 297 probability distribution function, of energy, awareness and alteration of, 269 probability(ies) directionality of time and, 243 nature of time and role of, 250 proprioceptive sense of motion, 132 prospective memory, 251 psoriasis, mindfulness meditation and, 224 psychiatric disorders, chaos and rigidity in, 77–78 psychiatric medications, 9–10 psychiatry field conflict and turf battles in, 146 division of the objective from the subjective and, 148–52 drive for objectivity in, 148 transfer into, 147–48 psychotherapy, 149 interpersonal neurobiology applied to, 197 within and between mind and, 176 Psychotherapy Networker magazine, 215 PTSD see posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Pullin, J., 246 pure consciousness, 289, 290 purpose mind and, 196 reflections and invitations on, 206–11 purpose of life, integration as?, 200–205, 210 Quakers, 190 quantum complex networks theory, 247 quantum effects, obscuring of, by classical physics’ properties, 164 quantum mechanics, 48, 248 orthodox Copenhagen interpretation of, 269 possibilities, probabilities, and, 57 quantum physics, 163, 268 plane of possibility consistent with, 271 time and, 240 quantum theory, 244 Raichle, M., 80 reactive state, “no” and, 309 reactivity, 309, 314, 321 Reader, J., 194 reality, quantum or probability nature of, 58 reasoning, receptive state, “yes” and, 309 receptive stillness, wide-open awareness and, 293 recursive feedback, 203 reductionism, 248, 249 reflections and invitations within and between, 182–87 awareness and time, 235–56 centrality of subjectivity, 115–22 cultivating presence, 287–301 identity, self, and mind, 140–44 integration and well-being, 85–98 MWe, an integrating self, and a kind mind, 323–30 purpose and meaning, 206–11 self-organization of energy and information flow, 51–61 relational, contextual perceptions, right brain hemisphere and, 161 relational mental lives, 13 “relational,” use of term, in reference to the mind, 154 relationships energy and information shared in, 39 integration in, study of, 82 interpersonal integration and, 94–95 lives unfolding within, 28 science of mind and, 70 supportive, well-being and, 307 transformative power of, 216 triangle of human experience and, 39–40, 40 see also attunement; compassion; empathy; kindness; MWe relationship science, 175 religion, science and, 195, 236 resilience, 78 of coherence, features of, 203 integration and, 98 integration in brain and self-regulation at heart of, 82 mindsight and, 147 resonance attunement, trust, and, 229 feeling felt and, 167 plane of possibility and, 286 term “relational” and, 154 see also positivity resonance respect, interpersonal integration and, 94, 95 respiratory system, 43 response flexibility, prefrontal cortex and, 204 reverence, 329 Rhesus monkeys, killing by, and gain in alpha status, 320 rigidity, 96, 117, 254, 284 acute grief and, 97 anguish manifested as, 138 assessments of, in clinical setting, 88 clinging to sense of control and, 280 entering state of flourishing from, 200 excessive differentiation and, 314 grief and, 83 impaired integration and, 86, 87, 198 negative emotions and, 114 origins of, gaining sense of, 89–90 patients and pattern of, 76 reflecting on, 85, 86, 210 relieving distressing symptoms of, 206 stress, shift to left brain hemisphere, and, 92 transforming into harmony of integration, 298 see also chaos river of integration, 78, 79 Roman Pantheon, 195 romantic relationships, integration in, 82 Rumi, 121 Rupert, R., 154 ruptures, presence and repair of, 228 Russia, shtetls in, 192, 193 sadness, 74 see also grief Saint Peter’s Square, Rome, 195, 196 salmon, fresh water to salt water switch and, 30, 107, 115, 124, 183 sanctity of life, honoring, 329 Scharmer, O., 162 schema, 128, 172 schizophrenia, 9, 198 brain regions, lack of integration, and, 80 chaos of hallucinations and rigidity of delusions in, 77 impaired integration and, 218 Schore, A., 28 science, religion and, 195, 236 spirituality and, 195, 236–37, 272, 273 world’s wisdom traditions, spirituality, and, 205 science of mind relationships and, 70 subjective mental experiences and, 69–70 Scott, D., 251 seasons, 304 Second Law of Thermodynamics, 270 directionality of Arrow of Time and, 242 expansion of the universe and, 244 “Past Hypothesis” and, 243, 244 secure attachment, 28 attunement and, 227–28 being present with your children and, 224 as integrated relationship, 82 integration, within and between, and, 223 interpersonal attunement and, 233 mindfulness and, 215 mindshpere in family and, 175 trauma resolution and development of, 176 selective attachments, 195 self, 140, 141, 142 betweenness and sense of, 160 expanding sense of, 60–61 illusions of time and, 61 see also identity self-care, integration and, 211 self-discovery, 120 self-identity, culture and, 321 “self-object,” loss of, 96–97 self-organization, 38, 84, 99, 123, 152, 190, 284 complex systems and, 49, 50, 98 defined, 36 domains of integration and, 97 drive toward integration and, 82–83 of energy and information flow, 51–61 FACES flow and, 78, 79 health and, 62 integration and, 78, 111, 145 living struggle of, 75 maximal complexity and, 78, 79, 111–12, 203, 253 mind and, 156 natural essence of unfolding with, 51 optimal, 61, 76, 78, 199 potential overlaps of consciousness and, 59 probability distribution curve, consciousness, and, 297–98 recursive feature of being and, 50, 54, 60, 203 stories and, 72–73 within and between, 158–59 see also integration self-organizing aspect of mind, defining, 37 self-reflection, cortical brain and, 155 self-regulation integration in the brain and, 221 neural integration and, 82, 234, 235 “self-states,” integration and, 315 self-transformation, awe and, 310 Senge, P., 162, 179 sensations bottom-up, 132 ecphoric, 172 reflecting on meaning of, 133 SIFTing the mind and, 121, 122 senses, in Wheel of Awareness, 90, 91 sensing stream, mindfulness meditation and, 224, 229, 231, 232 sensory conduit stream, vivid present and, 138 sensory stream, defining within SOCK, 272 separate self digital technology and reinforced experience of, 326 family and societal messages about, 320, 322 serotonin, 46 seventh sense of mental abilities, 278 in Wheel of Awareness, 90, 91 Shapiro, S., 225 shared attention, subjectivity honored in focus of, 111 sharing, birth of the mind and, 22 shtetls, 192, 193 sickle cell trait, case of patient with, 103, 104 Siegel, A., 141, 258, 324 Siegel, M., 42, 190, 200, 227, 326, 330 SIFTing the mind, 105, 106, 143 focusing on subjective reality of your life and, 121–22 reflections on plane of possibility and, 300 sight, 132 silence importance of, 22 truth illuminated in, 23 situated cognition, 153 sixth sense (interoceptive ability), 278 vertical integration and, 92 in Wheel of Awareness, 90, 91 smartphones, 162, 240 smell, 132 social awe, 310 social brain, 47 social brain hypothesis, distributed mind and, 153 social engagement system “tend-and-befriend” response and, 311 trust and, 309 social field, 115, 116, 117, 162, 168, 170–71, 180–81 of acceptance and receptivity, 172 invisible neuroplastic changes and, 181 mind as within and between and, 186 social intelligence, promoting, 236 social mind, 119 social neuroscience, 158 socio-cognitive relationships, distributed mind and, 154 SOCK (sensation, observation, concept, knowing), 255, 272 of mindful awareness, 231 power and possibility of presence and, 256 Solomon, M., 28 soothing fear, prefrontal cortex and, 204 “Soul and Synapse” event, 264 sound, 56 sound waves, 55 spacetime, 239, 240, 243 eternal imprint in, 263 unfoldings in, 245 speed relative nature of time and, 49 shape of spacetime block and, 240 Sperry, R., 108, 113, 161 spirituality science, world’s wisdom traditions, and, 205 science and, 195, 236–37, 272, 273 “split-brain patients” research (Sperry), 108 starlight, betweenness of mind and, 157 state integration, 94, 96 Stoller, R., 24, 28, 65, 67, 68, 71 stories, 18, 20, 29 humans as social creatures and, 196 self-organization and, 72–73 social nature of, 28 see also narrative(s) stress, new interpretations of, 185 string theory, 240 structure, culture and, 179, 180 subconscious, 279 subjective experience, 38, 39, 52, 74, 151, 152, 284 attending to, respecting, and sharing, 111 awakening and paying attention to, 121 awareness and, 34 definition of, 119 describing, 253 as gateway for interpersonal connection, 112 honoring, integrated life, and, 120–21 importance of, 111, 112 source of, questions related to, 155, 156, 158 subjectivity, 13, 20, 123 centrality of, 115–22 definition of, 119 expanding source of, 155 mind and, 1, prime of energy and information flow and, 52–53 as “prime” of the mind, 33 substance abuse, mindfulness meditation and, 224 suffering reducing, through love and compassion, 314–15 source of, in Buddhist philosophy, 222, 231 suicide prevention, emotional communication and, 30, 105, 124, 183 Sullivan, A., 22 sun, passage of Earth around, 303 Suomi, S., 320, 321 survival, distrust and, 193 Suzaki, K., 116 sweep ratios, 294, 295 sympathetic nervous system, 46 synapse, 44 synaptic architecture, energy flow and, 304–5 synaptic growth, 177, 180 synergy, emergent, 80 systems composition of, 42 types and sizes of, 42–43 system-self, 323 systems science, 77 Tai’ Chi Chu’an, 124, 125 Taoism, 124 taste, 132 Taylor, S., 311 Teicher, M., 80 telomerase, 224, 308, 324 temporal integration, 95, 206, 251 temporal lobes, 133 “tend-and-befriend” response, presence and, 311 theory of mind, 153 therapeutic experience, changing patient’s brain in positive way and, 171 therapeutic intervention, promotion of well-being, and, 89 therapy, basis of mindsight approach to, 199 Theravada Buddhist tradition, insight meditation practice of, 217 thermal equilibrium, 244 thought, 2, 3, 4, 6, 34, 122, 278 see also mind Tibetan Buddhism, 220 time academic discussions on nature of, 246–49 bottom-up perceiving and, 130 calendar of nows and, 304 change and, 41, 281–82 defining, 239, 245 energy and, 237 exploring nature of, 23 flow and, 32 flow in relation to energy shifts and, 239 illusions of self and, 61 integration and, 306 macrostates and directionality of, 241 mortality in, 196 reflecting on deep nature of, 212 reflections and invitations on awareness and, 235–56 risk in believing mind’s illusion of, 303 seeming irreversibility of, 241 velocity, gravity, and nature of, 49 time-asymmetry, 247 timeless reality, 220 Time magazine, “Mindful Revolution” cover story, 221 To Bless the Space Between Us (O’Donohue), 216 Tononi, G., 263, 289 top-down categorical construction, clinician, diagnostic categories, and, 151–52 Top-Down Constructor, mind as, 131 top-down information processing, 132, 135, 136, 139 description of, 127–31 OATS system and, 133, 134 schematic of, 136 top-down construction and, 137, 140, 273 see also bottom-up information processing touch, 132 traffic jams, inner sanctuary and dealing with, 299–300 transpirational integration, 95, 206 trauma chaos and rigidity in, 78 corpus callosum impairment and, 91–92 resolving, integration into explicit memory and, 93 unresolved, brain function and, 66 unresolved, intergenerational transfer of disorganized attachment and, 176 traumatic childhood history, Wheel of Awareness and individuals with, 266 traumatic loss, mind’s struggle with, 67 travel, bottom-up perceiving and, 130 true human narrative, teaching, 326 trust, 308 attunement, resonation, and, 229 learning facilitated by, 167 PART and, 172 social engagement system and, 309 truth, 22, 23, 210 Tuesday Sunday manuscript, 67, 68, 73, 105 Tuesdays with Morrie, (Albom) 105 Tulving, E., 18 turning points, 140, 142 Ukraine, shtetls in, 192 ultraviolet light, 164 unconscious, 279 Unitarian Church, 190, 194, 195 universe consciousness as inherent part of, 269 energy potentials and nature of, 57 University of California Berkeley campus, grove of trees on, 309–10, 311, 312 University of Freiburg, Germany, 550th birthday conference at, 236 Upper Paleolithic period, cultural evolution in, 181 Varela, F., 250 Vatican Pontifical Council on the Family, 188 public talk in Synod of Bishops at, 194 visit to, 190, 191, 193–96, 207 velocity, relative nature of time and, 49 ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, 131 Verely, A., 208 vertebrate nervous system, regulatory nature of, 308 vertical integration, 92, 206 grief and, 96 narrative integration and, 93 Vietnam War, 190 visual images, 23 vulnerabilities, emergence of kindness and, 315–16 Vygotsky, L., 12 Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, 310 wave function, 31 waves, range of values or locations for, 268 we-identity, longing for, 160 see also MWe Welch, C., 215, 258 Welch, N., 86, 87 well-being, 62, 236, 250, 266 within and between and, 97 compassion, kindness, and, 196 differentiation, linking, and, 329 empathy and, 112 FACES transformation and, 89 focus on subjective reality and, 111 integration and, 78, 81, 98, 115, 255, 306 integration in brain and self-regulation at heart of, 82 interpersonal integration and, 95, 96 mindfulness and, 223 mindsight and, 122 movement and, 124 presence and cultivation of, 308 temporal integration and, 251 see also health Wheel of Awareness, 59, 186, 255, 256, 259, 264, 269, 277, 284 bending of the spoke and, 265–66, 267, 268, 274, 298 consistency in numerous responses to, 267, 268, 299 finding commonality in hub of, 287 four segments on rim of, 232–33 function of, 232 hub, plane of possibility, and, 274, 298, 299 integration of consciousness and, 90, 91 living on rim of, 270 loss and, 96 love and, 311 miraculous mechanisms of mind and, 281 plane of possibility and, 271 presence and harnessing hub of, 325 reflecting on experiences with, 299 shift in perspective with, 265, 266 sweep ratio and, 294 see also plane of possibility Whitfield, T., 28, 68, 76, 105, 146 cancer diagnosis, 63 death of, 67 initial contact with, 102 mentoring relationship with, 63, 64–65 moving through grief after loss of, 67, 68, 70–73, 74, 83, 88, 96–97 wholeness, 84, 86, 124 Wholeness and the Implicate Other (Bohm), 83 whole person, seeking system of, 317–19 wide-open awareness, flow vs., 292–93 Wiesel, T., 176 window of tolerance, widening of, trusting relationship and, 172 wisdom, collective intelligence and, 209 within and between attention shaping energy and information flow and, 179 brain hemispheres and perception of, 161–62 compassion and, 321 consciousness and, 159, 161 FACES flow of integration, therapy, and, 172 finding way toward harmony and, 211 identity integration and, 95 information flow and, 158, 159, 161 mind’s emergence from energy flows in, 306 mindsphere, mindscape, and, 175 reality of mind and, 175, 180 reflections and invitations, 182–87 secure attachment, integration, and, 223 self-organization and, 158–59 subjective experience and, 159 well-being and, 97 witnessing, top-down mode and, 134 worded thoughts, non-worded thoughts and, 23 words, innate limiting and limited nature of, 21 World Health Organization, 125 “yes,” receptive state and, 309 Zajonc, A., 250, 253, 329 “zero percent probability” state, ways of experiencing, 296–97 All uncredited photos by Daniel J Siegel, © Mind Your Brain, Inc MIND A Journey to the Heart of Being Human Daniel J Siegel Copyright © 2017 by Mind Your Brain, Inc All rights reserved First Edition For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, W W Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110 For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact W W Norton Special Sales at specialsales@wwnorton.com or 800-233-4830 Book design by Molly Heron Jacket design by Lauren Graessle Jacket photo © Lars Ohlckers Production manager: Christine Critelli The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows: Siegel, Daniel J., 1957 author Title: Mind : a journey to the heart of being human / Daniel J Siegel, MD Description: First edition | New York : W W Norton & Company, [2017] | Includes biographical references and index Identifiers: LCCN 2015049567 | ISBN 9780393710533 (hardcover) Subjects: LCSH: Psychology | Brain | Intellect | Self | Consciousness Classification: LCC BF131 S46 2017 | DDC 150 dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015049567 ISBN: 978-0-393-71053-3 ISBN: 978-0-393-71054-0 (e-book) W W Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y 10110 www.wwnorton.com W W Norton & Company Ltd., Castle House, 75/76 Wells Street, London W1T 3QT Important Note: Mind is intended to provide general information on the subject of health and well-being; it is not a substitute for medical or psychological treatment and may not be relied upon for purposes of diagnosing or treating any illness Please seek out the care of a professional healthcare provider if you are pregnant, nursing, or experiencing symptoms of any potentially serious condition ... actually are This is just one part, important as it is, of the journey into mind to keep in mind For this setting and journey, sharing language that helps us grasp and share the nature of mind. .. here, and an element there is influenced as well The mind can be seen as causing the brain to fire in certain ways We can also see that the brain can cause the mind to unfold in a particular pattern... mean that only the brain creates the mind, as is often stated Brain and mind may in fact not be the same Each may mutually influence the other as science is beginning to quantitatively reveal,